Mountain Cabin
by emmy1124
Summary: My very first fic! Please be honest, but polite! Ron buys a cabin in the mountains. After getting up there with his friends and sister, will it all go well, or will it blow up in his face? Rated M just in case. Nowhere near that yet!
1. Ron for Breakfast

"Lets see...one, two, three..." Ginny Weasley bit her lip, thought for a moment, and retrieved another jumper from her closet, stopping on the way to grab several pairs of thick, woolen socks from the chest of drawers. Arranging the additions inside the trunk, Ginny silently thanked her mother for the years of knitted gifts.

Deciding now that a trunkful of clothes simply had to be plenty, she crossed the room to the desk, which was neatly arranged, a well-worn journal and quill lying open in its center. Ginny picked up the journal, its pages creased and wrinkled from years of writing and rereading so that its purple green-flowered cover no longer lay flat. Grabbing a quill, she placed them carefully in the trunk between two of the jumpers. In next went her briefcase containing all of the best design catalogues, her toiletries and favorite pillow.

Ginny heaved the heavy lid over and clamored on top, clasping the latch with some effort. 

"Too many jumpers," Ginny thought idly.

She sat on the edge of her bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She looked into the fire blankly, supressing a shiver. It was only mid-November, but the brunt of a winter freeze had gripped the country. Ginny wrapped herself tighter and leaned into the fire. She asked herself, not for the first time, "What am I doing?"

She thought back to the week before when her brother, Ron, had come over for a visit.

She had just finished making a breakfast of tea and toast, when her doorbell rang. She lived in a muggle neighborhood, so muggle ways were necessary. She set her plate and cup down on the table and walked to the door. Even though she was not expecting anyone, and especially not her brother, she couldn't help but smile as she let him in.

"Ron!" She hugged him to her, noticing not for the first time how tall he was. She only came to his chest now. "What are you doing here? Come in and sit. Want some tea? I could make you some breakfast, have you eaten?"

"Yeah, sure, Gin, breakfast is good. I've already eaten, but I'm still hungry", laughed Ron at his bottomless pit of a stomach.

"I have tea and toast. I could heat some ham or bacon up if you'd like."

"Ham sounds great."

As Ginny busied herself at the stove, she couldn't help notice how Ron seemed different. His usual carefree way about things was replaced with an attitude that could only be described as nervous, anxious, and maybe a little conniving. She set the steaming ham on a plate and brought it to the table with her.

"So, big brother, what's on your mind?"

Ron stared at her a moment. He opened his mouth a couple times, like he was going to say something, but couldn't. He decided to just think a minute before answering, so he took a large bite of ham. "Nothings on my mind. I just wanted to come see my favorite sister."

Ginny glared at him with a look very reminiscent of Molly Weasley. "Ron, how long have we known each other? Seriously, how could you sit there and tell me you just came over for tea and toast?"

"Don't forget this ham. It's great, Ginny."

She just sat there and stared at him, till at last he finished his breakfast. Leaning back against the chair, pushing it on two legs, he let out a sigh of contentment. He ran his hands through his red hair and took a deep breath. "Ok, I did want to talk to you about something. I did something this week. Something spontaneously. I still can't believe I did it, and now I need your help."

Ginny immediately lost her frustration at her brother and asked, "What's wrong, Ron? What did you do?"

He fiddled with his teacup looking deep into it like it was going to hold an answer, and replied, "I bought something. A big something."

"What? What did you buy?" Ginny exasperatedly asked.

"A cabin. On Mount Brighton."

"A cabin? On Mount Brighton?" Ginny was trying to see a reason in this purchase. Mount Brighton was to the north about two hundred miles. It was virtually inhabited except for ten or twelve cabins. It was a beautiful place, but so many obstacles on it made people stray away from it. You couldn't apparate up the mountain, for fear of avalanches. There was no ski slope or major traffic on this mountain. It was safe enough for the people who lived there, but only because it was protected by magic. No muggles were in that area. "You do know it snows there? A lot. And you do know that it is a two-day trek just up to the living area? Also-" Ginny cut off when Ron opened his mouth to speak.

"Yeah, of course. I bought the old Garwood place. It's been empty for four years, and it wasn't selling. I wanted to get a place I could get out of here by myself sometimes. It's furnished and all, but not real homey."

Ginny had a feeling she knew where this was going. She understood Ron's need to get out sometimes, his life these past five years were very taxing. She put her hand on her brothers and looked at it. The tops of his hands were covered in small scars. One scar ran from the bottom of his thumb, up past his wrist, finally coming to a stop just below his elbow.

"So," Ginny said, trying not to think about that time, "what exactly are you needing from me?"

Ron smirked. After Hogwarts, Ginny went to study interior designing with Colin Creevey. Everyone in the family was surprised, to say the least, since Ginny was not exactly a passive person. She wasn't happy unless she was in the middle of everything and all its chaos. When Harry and Ginny broke up right before she left school, she did a complete turnabout. She became unsure of herself and quite depressed. Colin, her best friend and confidant, convinced her to come study with him. Surprisingly, she enjoyed it. She became more and more confident and eventually came back to be the Ginny they all knew and loved and missed. Ron was the only one that understood that even though she had drastically changed, designing still gave her a sense of control and she needed that, after her life had been tipped over.

"Well, Ginny, like I said, no one has lived there for four years. We all know how old man Garwood was. If his place has any cheer whatsoever in it, I'll give up the Cannons."

Ginny giggled. Even after a fifty year losing streak, Ron's loyalty to the Cannons was something he'd take to the grave.

He continued, "I want to decorate it. Well, I want you to decorate it. It needs some color and comfort. I look forward to being able to get away and relax, but the way the place looks now, I'll be more comfortable in the dungeons at Hogwarts. Please come with me for a week and do your magic."

Ginny thought about the next month. It was the middle of November, and it was a slow time of the year for her. She didn't have a client lined up till the week before Christmas. She could take some time off and spend with her brother. After her disaster with Harry, and Ron and Hermione's, well, awkward falling out, her and Ron became very close. They understood each other better now than in school, and a very nice friendship bloomed out of adolescent sibling rivalry.

Ron moved to scratch his hand absentmindedly, and it brought a shock to Ginny. "Wait, what about your, uh, I mean, what if something happens? What are we supposed to do?"

He stopped scratching his hand and looked at Ginny exasperatedly. "Gin, I'm fine, I haven't had an episode in five months now."

Ron thought back to the night that the raid went bad. Two years after school, Harry and Ron had been called in to do a raid at the Dolohov's. After easily catching the death eater off guard, Dolohov and two of his cronies were apprehended and prepared to be transferred to the Ministry. Harry took one death eater, and Seamus Finnigan took the other. They apparated out and just as Ron and Dolohov were about to leave, a large crash was heard behind them. Dolohov's house elf was shocked to see her master arrested and bound. She dropped her plate of food she was brining the evil minions, and the noise caused quite a distraction. Ron jerked his head around with his wand a half second later. This second of distraction was not lost on Dolohov. He kicked out at Ron, knocking him off balance. Dolohov rolled over and was able to reach Ron's wand. He undid the ropes binding him and shot a spell at Ron. The blue light was aimed for his chest, but years of school Quidditch games made Ron faster than her looked. He jumped out of the way, reaching for his wand at the same time. The curse went in his hand and burned so bad he grabbed his wrist. He watched in horror as a blue light started creeping slowly up his arm. At that time, something that even Ron wasn't expecting happened. Dolohov's elf, snapped her fingers and took the wand from her enraged master. She thrust it in Ron's hand. As soon as he had a hold of it, the curse stopped and shot out of his skin, near his elbow. The last thing he remembered was looking into the elf's eyes and thinking that Hermione might have been right about them, after all. Then everything went black. He woke up in a white room. It smelled clean and he knew immediately it was a hospital.

"Uh, my head", Ron said as he opened his eyes.

"Oh, Ron, you're awake! I was so worried! Let me go get the healer!"

Ron barely registered that it was his sister who was there before she was back. Two days later, he was released to go home, and put on leave from the Ministry for a month. He moved in with Harry and after a month at home, went back to work. However, for over a year and a half after the attack, every month on the night he was attacked, he had an episode, for lack of a better word. He would get lightheaded and have nightmares while awake. He would get violently ill and very angry. The episodes would only last an hour or so before a pain would travel up his arm and exit out the scar on his arm. For a day or so after, Ron would be unable to use his arm and his pride would be tested as he needed help with simple things.

He understood Ginny's worry, but he but on a brave smile and tried to placate his sister. "Gin, do you think I'd really go up there not prepared? I'm bringing someone who has helped me before, and could easily help me if something happened while we were up there."

Ginny felt some relief pour through her, healing was never her strong point. Neither was potions, both of which were required to help her brother through his episodes. Then as she realized Ron's ears were turning a brilliant shade of red, fear coursed through her body like fire. "Who? Who are you bringing? Ron, you can't be serious. I won't go."

"Ginny," Ron whined, "you said you'd come. I need you there. Please please please."

Before she could answer he continued on, "Besides, have you seen this place. It's got three floors, and rooms at every end of it. You probably won't even see him if you don't mean to run into him!"

Ginny looked around her kitchen. The buttercup yellow walls were accented with a stenciled border of suns in terracotta. The walnut cabinets and table brought a calming, feminine, yet gender neutral comfort to the kitchen. It was true, she'd seen pictures of the cabin. It truly did need her help.

"Ron, I will go on one condition."

"Done. Anything you want."

Ginny grinned. She knew her brother would wish he could take back his words when she told him what she wanted.

She said, "I have a friend I want to bring. A good friend who needs a break from the real world. This friend is helping me with my business some, and it would be good practice for her, ok?"

"Sure," said Ron, wondering why an evil smile was forming on Ginny's face. "What's her name? Is she cute?"

Ginny smiled at Ron. He was so easy. "Yeah, she's adorable. She's been a good friend to me for several years now and I know she'll help me so much up there."

"Her name, Ginny," said Ron, feeling like he was about to be hit with the same brick he threw at his sister.

"Hermione."

"No. No way. I can't believe you would even consider that. Don't you remember what happened?"

"Yes, I do, Ron. The real question, is do you remember?"

Ron glared at her. He knew what she was doing. In that moment, the Weasley temper hit both of them, and when that happened, things got ugly. Ron realized he could do the exact same thing to Ginny as she was doing to him. "Of course, Harry's coming. Hermione's coming. You're coming. I'm coming. This could be fun," he said, trying not to show how much he didn't want Hermione to be there and how much he did, at the same time.

Ginny, confused for a minute on this change in attitude in Ron, said, "Yeah, ok, fun. We can do this. We're all grownups here, Ron. I'll talk to Hermione tonight and we can be ready on—wait, when do you want to go?"

"I want to leave on Thursday. We can be up there Friday night, and then next Friday leave. We'll all be back home by Sunday."

"Sounds good to me."

Ron left soon after, and left Ginny with the dishes. She washed them without really thinking about them. She was worrying about what to bring to wear. '_What am I thinking? Like he'll give a damn what I'm wearing. I just have to get through this week without letting anyone know that I still love him.'_, she thought_. 'Of course, if Hermione doesn't go along with it, I'm going to have to find an excuse not to go.'_

With that, she walked out of the kitchen, and into her room. Hermione only lived a few doors down, but the temperature was beginning to drop quite rapidly. She got dressed in wool slacks and a tank top. Over that she pulled on a button up, with a pale green jumper over that. Her chocolate brown coat was new, one of her favorite things to wear. It set off her read hair brilliantly, and matched her eyes just perfect. Pushing her feet into solid boots, she made her way down the steps of her flat, toward Hermione's and what was probably going to be the first time she ever begged for anything in her life.


	2. Convincing Hermione

A fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace. Hermione Granger was sitting on her couch with her feet propped up on her coffee table. She had a large book in her lap and was reading with ferocity. She loved Hogwarts, A History, and every time she reread it, she learned something new. She leaned over and picked up a cup of tea. When someone knocked on her door, she almost dropped her cup. She set her tea down and marked her place in her book. She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Ginny!" the girl exclaimed, "Come in! It's freezing out there. I'll get you some tea."

"Thanks, Hermione." Ginny walked in and took off her coat. She hung it up on a coat rack. She walked over to the fire and warmed her hands. She couldn't believe how cold it was getting.

Ginny pondered a minute about how to ask Hermione for her help. She thought about how hard it was going to be to spend a whole week with Harry, and tears came to her eyes. _'Why do I have to have feelings like this for him still? Why can't I just move on?'_

Hermione returned to the room with a tray of tea and some biscuits. She set the tray down and looked at her friend. She was surprised to see her blinking back tears.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" She walked over to the couch and sat down. She patted the seat beside her and said, "Come on, sit. Tell me what's wrong."

Ginny was furious with herself for tearing up. She declared, "My idiot brother is what's wrong. You won't believe what he did to me."

Hermione felt her face flush thinking of Ron, but was also angry that he could make her best friend so upset. "What did he do?"

Ginny went on to explain that he bought the Garwood cabin in Mount Brighton. She told Hermione how he asked her to come up with him for a week to redecorate it.

Hermione was confused. "Why is that a bad thing? You love redecorating. Also, Mount Brighton is beautiful. It's so peaceful up there. Or, so I've heard."

Ginny sighed, "Yes, that's all fine, but he's bringing someone with him."

Hermione fought down something that rose in her chest. That something felt ridiculously like jealousy. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Who?"

"Harry."

"Harry?" Something that felt equally as ridiculous as jealousy poured through her. Surely that wasn't relief. "Why is he bringing Harry?"

"Hermione, he needs someone up there with him in case he has an episode. We all know I'm not the greatest at potions and healing has never been my strong point. Harry has lived with Ron since his attack, and he knows what to do in case of one. He hasn't had an episode in five months. But better to be safe than sorry, I guess."

Hermione looked at her friend, "Oh, Ginny, is there anything I can do." She knew how much Ginny still loved Harry, and could only imagine how hard it would be to have to spend a week with someone you loved but didn't have.

Ginny looked at Hermione with relief in her face. "I knew you would. Oh, Hermione, thank you thank you thank you!"

"Wait, what are you thanking me for?"

Grinning like mad, Ginny said, "You can come with me. You can practice your newly found decorating skills, and keep me company and away from--,I mean…"

Her friend must have lost her mind. Hermione sputtered, "Go with you? Are you mad? I can't. Look who's going to be up there? Does that ring a bell at all?" She crossed her arms and looked at her friend with a glare on her face.

Ginny's face dropped. "But Hermione, I need you. Ron said this house is huge. We won't even see them if we don't want. I just don't want to go up there by myself. Ron doesn't understand my feelings and I need you. Please?" She pouted in a way that made Hermione sit back and think.

She sighed, "Ginny, about five months ago, he finally got the nerve to ask me out. After almost ten years of friendship! Do you remember that?"

"Yes, of course," Ginny replied.

"We went to that muggle club off of Diagon Alley. We danced and drank and had a great time. Then when I woke up the next morning, I was in bed. With. Your. Brother. Do you remember THAT?"

"Yes, Hermione, I remember that. You came to my house crying and carrying on. You never would tell me why you left his house so fast, and why you still wont' talk to him."

Hermione pushed back her anger, it was no good to take her anger out for Ronald Weasley on his sister. "When he woke up that morning, I had already gotten up. I was bringing some coffee to his room, when I saw him writing a letter. He gave it to Pig, and I heard him say, "Take this to Sophia. I mean, what kind of person takes you home, spends an amazing night..", she cut off, "I mean, and then the next morning writes a letter to another woman." She sat back and looked at Ginny.

Ginny didn't know what to say. She knew something had happened between her brother and Hermione, but she didn't know what. Now that she did know, she wanted to hex her brother. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that. You don't have to come with me. I completely understand. But I do need a favor from you."

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"I need an excuse not to go now, because if you aren't going, then I'm not going."

Hermione sighed. Ginny had done so well for herself in her decorating business. She proved to everyone that she was a talented witch, and a talented decorator. Ginny lived for this thrill and Hermione didn't want to hurt her friend for anything. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. Thinking ahead, she realized that she had only two more days of class before holiday break. Hermione worked at Flourish and Blotts while going to school to become a professor. She could take time off from work, she had the vacation saved. She loved helping Ginny decorate. It was becoming one of her favorite hobbies. She looked at her friend and said, "No excuse. I'll go with you."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "Are you sure? I mean, you seriously don't have to. I understand completely…"

"Ginny, shut it. I said I'd go. Promise me you'll try to keep Ronald away from me, and I'll help with Harry. Ok?"

"Ok." Ginny threw her arms around her best friend in the whole world.

"Now, when are we leaving?"

"Friday," said Ginny. We'll be back the following weekend.

"That sounds good. Ok, well, let's go. Come help me pack."

Giggling, the two girls went upstairs and into Hermione's room. Ginny looked around at the changes. Her room used to be white, with a few pictures on the walls. A desk covered with books, and a bed with a white cover on it. It was completely changed. Hermione must have been practicing her decorating. She had painted the walls a deep sage. The desk was cleared off and a massive oak bookshelf was added in. Books filled the shelves. The bed had been moved out of the corner and put in under the window. A new cream colored bedspread with black and sage plaid had been added. The pictures that once were put up on the walls now were in beautiful frames matching the bookshelf. They were organized on another new shelf and some were hung up symmetrically on the walls. Ginny was impressed.

"Oh, Hermione, this is beautiful!"

"Do you think so?" Hermione bit her lip. She really liked the colors together, and the way she redid her room, but was unsure of herself.

"Yes, it's fantastic. You are definitely going to be a big help this next week!" Ginny giggled.

She sat down on Hermione's bed as her friend brought out her old school trunk. She opened it up. Waving her wand, several jumpers flew out of Hermione's dresser and some jeans and wool pants flew out of her closet. They folded themselves neatly and were packed in the trunk. Socks, underclothes, and night clothes followed the outerwear. A pair of fluffy bunny slippers sat on top of the pile. Ginny giggled at the thought of prim and proper Hermione Granger wearing pink bunny slippers.

Hermione turned and mock glared at her friend. "What? They're comfortable."

As more of Hermione's belongings, including several books and a wooden box with various vials of potions settled themselves in her trunk, Ginny realized that Friday was the day after tomorrow. She needed to pack her own trunk. She talked with Hermione a few more minutes watching her trunk fill completely. After it was shut with a quite a bit of help from Ginny, they went back downstairs.

They sat for several hours working on ideas for Ron's cabin. When Hermione suggested making one of the rooms Cannon orange, Ginny grinned. They figured out a color scheme for the kitchen, living area, and two of the bedrooms. When the clock chimed, it shocked Ginny to see that it was six o'clock.

"Oh, no, I've got to go!" She jumped up from the table and threw her coat on. "I've got a floo call at eight with Colin!"

Hermione looked at Ginny. Was she seeing Colin? She opened her mouth to ask when Ginny continued.

"He and Sam are planning a Christmas party for some rich couple a few towns over. He let me borrow some samples last week to look at and I have to arrange to get them back to him."

"Who's Sam?" Hermione asked.

"Sam is Colin's fiance," said Ginny.

Confused, she asked, "Fiance?" She thought about Colin. They all thought he might be, but weren't sure.

Ginny grinned, "Yeah. Hey, Sam is short for Samantha, by the way."

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. She flushed, trying not to be embarrassed.

"It's ok. Colin knows that his line of work doesn't profess the most masculine lifestyle. But trust me, Samantha is all girl!"

Hermione laughed and hugged her friend. "Be careful going home. This weather is getting worse."

"Ok, I'll be fine. I'm going to have my floo call with Colin, then go pack. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, girl. Bye" She shut the door behind Ginny and picked up her book off the coffee table. She relaxed back into the world of Hogwarts history.

Ginny slipped twice going up the steps to her flat. Holding on to rail tight, she made it inside. Seeing that she an hour and half before Colin would call, she went upstairs to pack. After packing, she sat on her bed facing the fire, wondering what she was dong. She walked downstairs into the kitchen where she put some water on to boil. She pulled a mug out of the cabinet and brought some instant hot chocolate out of the pantry. She was just adding the water to her mug when her doorbell rang.

'Who in the world?' Ginny thought as she went to the door. It had really started coming down with snow and it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of you. The wind was terrible too. Opening it up, the figure stepped in before she could say anything. Instinctively, she pulled her wand out of her pocket and backed up a few feet. The person, seeing her wand, chuckled. He raised his hands in mock defeat.

"Come on, Gin, put that away. I'd hate for you to accidentally Bat Bogey me."

She froze. She knew that voice. The figure took off his hat, cloak and scarf. She stared at the man in her house. "Harry?"

Ron sat at his desk with his hands in his head. He couldn't believe he agreed with Ginny to let Hemione come with them. He didn't understand what happened five months ago.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been best friends through school. Ron started having feelings for her around third year, but never got the nerve to do anything about it. After his attack eighteen months ago, he realized what could have happened. He could have died. He decided then to put aside his fears and ask her out. It still took him a year, but he did it. To his surprise, she agreed.

They had gone to a muggle dining restaurant. It felt completely normal to sit and talk to Hermione over a bottle of wine. After dinner, they walked outside. Hermione noticed a muggle club across the street and they went over to it. After several shots of firewhisky, she talked Ron into dancing with her. They danced some fast songs, laughing and having a great time.

A slow song came on. He felt bolder, maybe from the alcohol. He put one of his hands on Hermione's back and pulled her flush to him. He took her other hand and held it. Hermione put her free hand on Ron's chest and they swayed slowly, barely hearing the music. Her eyes hypnotized him and he was scared. She looked up at him with complete trust and love. He leaned down and brushed his lips to hers. It was brief, and full of question. She looked back at him and slowly smiled. She stood on tip toe and kissed him again. This kiss was full of passion. They broke apart again. Ron grabbed her hand and led her out of the club. He apparated them back to his place.

Waking up the next morning, he realized he had just spent the most amazing night with the most amazing woman in the world. He turned over on his side, to see an empty place in bed. Frowning, he got up. Then he heard noises from his kitchen and the smell of coffee reached his room. Smiling, he looked at the calendar. His smile dropped instantly.

Today was the day. He was so excited about his date with Hermione, he totally forgot all about it. It was the anniversary of his attack and he was going to have an episode at exactly ten in the morning. It happened every month at the same time and he was always prepared. He was frustrated with himself. He had to get Hermione out before he made a fool of himself in front of her. He looked over at his clock, then he blinked. The clock read after noon.

Confused, he thought of Sophia. He was still somewhat embarrassed to have to go see a psychiatrist, even though she was as nice as she was. Ron was supposed to write down everything that happened to him during his episodes and send them to her. The next week they met up and discussed what happened. It was really helping him cope with everything. He knew that if he didn't have his episode already, he wasn't going to. He sat down and wrote a note to Sophia, explaining what happened. After giving Pig the letter and telling him where to go, he got up and stretched. He put on a dressing gown and made his way downstairs. He stepped out of his door and almost tripped over the tray of coffee in the floor. He picked it up, confused, and walked downstairs. Hermione was gone.

He didn't hear anything from her for three days. Well, even then, it wasn't her he heard from. Ginny came over and told him in no uncertain terms that Hermione refused to talk about him, and didn't want to see him anymore. She was mad at her brother for hurting her friend, even though she didn't know what he had done.

Ron stood up suddenly. Thinking back at that night and the next morning wouldn't do him any good. He thought about what to bring with him to the cabin, and walked upstairs to pack. Harry had brought his trunk over earlier and told Ron he had to see Ginny before they went up into the cabin. Ron warned him not to say or do anything stupid, so Ginny wouldn't change her mind. He wondered what he had to say to his sister that was so important.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Ginny stumbled back and tripped over her briefcase. Righting herself, she realized her wand was still pointed at him. She lowered it.

"Hey, Ginny, I wanted to come over and talk to you. It's been awhile."

'_Three years is more than awhile'_, she thought. She said, "Yeah, it has. So what is it that you have to say?"

"Can I sit down?" Harry gestured around him. Ginny noticed they were still in her foyer. She quickly led them into her living room. She sat in the middle of the couch, hoping he would take the hint and sit in the armchair across the room. No such luck. He plopped down beside her, brushing her thigh with his leg as he did. She jumped up like she'd been burned.

"I'll go get us some tea. I'll be right back." Ginny walked into the kitchen muttering to herself. "Get a hold of yourself. He probably just wants to know how we're going to avoid each other while we are out at Ron's. He doesn't want to be anywhere near me, he made that clear when he left me." Anger coursed through Ginny, and she slammed some things down on a tray. She reached in her pantry and found a box of peanut butter cookies. She set them on the tray, remembering they were his favorite.

Setting the tray down on the coffee table, she hesitantly lowered herself back on the couch, this time near the arm of it.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, her fireplace came to life and the flames turned green. She looked over and saw Colin's head poking out.

"Colin!" she jumped up and ran to the fireplace.

"Hi Ginny!" He looked over at Harry and asked, "Is this a bad time? I can call back later."

"Um. No, that's ok."

Colin shook his head. "No, how about I just call you tomorrow. Same time, ok? Night then, Ginny." His head disappeared and the flames turned back to yellow.

She turned around and looked at Harry. His eyes were sad. He stood up and asked, "How long have you been seeing Colin?"

Ginny couldn't help it. She laughed. "Seeing Colin? Colin's my business partner. He and his _fiancé _own his decorating company. I was just supposed to give him some ideas tonight about a party next month."

"Oh," Harry said sheepishly. He looked down at his feet.

Ginny didn't want to let the hope she felt get too big. She could have sworn he was jealous. Jealous. Of Colin!

"Ginny?" she looked up at Harry and realized he was closer than the last time she checked. "Can we be friends again? I really miss that. I know we've had our problems, but before all that, we were friends. Really good friends. Please let's move past this and be friends again."

Ginny couldn't begin to think what she was feeling. She missed Harry's friendship so much, and was excited at the thought of being friends with him again. They got along so well, usually. At the same time, she was disappointed that he wanted to be only friends. She pushed those feelings aside, and looked into Harry's eyes. She smiled and stepped over to him.

"Friends." She stuck her hand out to shake his. He took it and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her in a Harry hug. She missed these. She felt herself melting and wrapped her arms around his waist, just standing there. They broke apart after a minute and sat down on the couch. Enjoying their coffee, and Harry especially enjoying the peanut butter cookies, they sat and talked for the rest of the evening until it was after eleven.

He stood up reluctantly and said, "I better go. I have to go to work early in the morning. I'll see you on Friday, ok?"

Ginny nodded. "Okay. I'm glad you came by. Hey, Harry, don't tell Ron we made up, ok? He'll pitch a fit about me bringing Hermione and she won't come either. I think they need to talk and get things straight and the only way to do that is to be in the same room. Ok?"

Harry grinned, "You do have a deceptive mind. I miss that. I won't say a word." He leaned down and paused. Ginny looked back at him and he kissed her cheek. "Bye, Ginny."


	3. A new car

**I realized I forgot to put a disclaimer on the other chapters. Oops. I am not JK Rowling. There. **

**Thanks for the reviews. I think you'll like this chapter, it's a little different. If you like it, hit that button at the bottom of the page and tell me!**

Ginny turned the shower off. She got out and wrapped a large towel around her body and twisted another in her hair. Her hair was almost down to her waist now. As she combed it out, she thought about just cutting it all off. While she was still in school, and she and Harry were dating, he couldn't keep his hands out of her hair. He told her it was his favorite part of her. She hadn't cut it since.

She made her way into her room, and pulled some pajamas out of her dresser. She slipped on some slippers and made her way back downstairs. Wrapping a soft blanket around her shoulders, she sat down in a large plush chair in front of her fireplace. She thought back to the times with Harry in school. They were friends first. After her first year, she tried to crawl into a shell, but Ron, Harry, and Hermione wouldn't let her. They brought her out with them. She wasn't as close to them as they were to each other, but they were all good friends. During Ginny's fifth year, Harry started acting different. She had always liked him, and he was finally returning the feelings. One night after a spectacular quidditch win, he kissed her.

For several weeks after, life was good for Ginny Weasley. It all came crashing down when Dumbledore was killed. She was left behind while the Golden Trio did their thing. She waited for a year for him to come back. When he did, it was different. They argued mostly, and didn't enjoy each other. He finally broke it off with her, saying he needed time for himself before committing to her. She cried for a month, in front of no one of course. She became a different Ginny. They remained somewhat cordial to each other after that, but she's only seen him four or five times in the past two years.

Tonight was good. She was glad he came by to reconcile their friendship. She had forgiven him a long time ago. She still loved him, she knew that would never change. But Harry's friendship was more important to her than almost anything. Smiling at the thought of Harry, she fell asleep on the couch.

Ron was coming out of the kitchen when he heard a loud POP. He looked up to see Harry.

"Harry, mate, how'd it go?" Ron was hoping they'd make up so that Ginny would be happy. He knew both his best friend and sister still had unresolved feelings for each other.

"It went OK, I guess. She still hates me. On the other hand, I am bat bogey free," Harry said, trying not to look too guilty.

Ron's face dropped. "Oh, well, hey, she's still coming with us, right?"

"Yeah, she's still coming. She had to convince Hermione, though. Had to promise you wouldn't be around her too much."

The tips of Ron's ears went pink. "You know, we spent _seven years _together in school. We were best friends. She knew I liked her. I knew she liked me! Granted, it took me years to do it, but I asked her out! We had fun. Things went a bit far, but hell, we are all adults here! I haven't heard ONE word from her in five months and she wants _me_ to stay away from _her_?" he shouted.

"Yeah, well, women are weird like that," Harry said. "Listen, it'll be fine. We'll work on our thing. They'll work on theirs. OK?"

"Ok," said Ron resignedly. He slumped in his seat. "I just don't understand."

Early that Friday morning, Ron and Harry shrunk their trunks and put them in their pockets. They apparated over to Ginny's street, behind some trees. Looking around quickly, their stored their wands and walked across the street to Ginny's flat. The climbed the steps and rang the bell.

"Oh, God, they are here," said Hermione, wringing her hands. "What do I say to him? I don't know if I can do this. Ginny, how did you talk me into this?"

From the kitchen, Ginny shouted, "Hermione, relax. Now. You'll be fine. It's just Ron. You've known him forever. Harry is your best friend. So is Ron. It'll be ok. Now, if you could, let them in. It's freezing out there."

Hermione walked over and opened the door. Standing right in front of her was Ron. She stared into his eyes, getting lost in the blue depth. After a minute of them staring at each other, but not saying anything, Harry coughed.

"Excuse me, Hermione? Can we come in?"

Hermione jumped. "Yes, sorry. Here, come in. Ginny, Harry and R-Ron are here," she called.

Ginny came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Ron!" She jumped up and caught Ron around his neck with her arms, leaving her feet dangling almost a foot off the floor. He let her down after hugging her and she turned around. "Harry. Nice to see you again," she said solemnly.

Harry smiled politely. "Nice to see you, too, Gin, uh, Ginny."

Ginny winked at him. Harry caught Hermione in a headlock. "Come here, girl. I haven't seen you in forever!"

Hermione squirmed under his arms. "Harry! Let me go!" She pulled herself out and swatted his arm. "It's good to see you, too." She turned and looked at Ron.

"Hi, Hermione." Ron looked down at his feet. "How are you?"

"Fine, Ron. Um, how are you?"

"Fine."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Now that we've gotten the niceties out of the way, can we blow this joint? Where are your trunks?"

Ron pulled the small pieces out of his pocket. She nodded and pointed her wand at her trunk. After shrinking hers and then Hermione's, she gave them to Ron. He zipped them in his pocket.

Ron told her the coordination numbers for the apparition point. There were four POP's in her apartment.

The four of them looked around. They were at the bottom of the mountain. Ron entered a ranger's station, the other three in tow. "Excuse me, I'm here to pick up the keys for the Garwood cabin."

"Yes, sir," a bored looking witch said. She had long, red fingernails, and a bad blonde dye job. "Name, please."

"Ron Weasley."

The witch looked up and stared. She looked from Ron to Harry and back to Ron. "Oh my god, you're them. You are the two that saved us all."

Hermione snorted.

Ron looked over at her before replying, "We weren't alone. This lady here, Hermione, was very important. Without her, I doubt any of us would be here."

Hermione blushed and smiled.

"Hmmph, well," said the witch, somewhat unimpressed, "Mr. Weasley, your keys for the house are here, and here are your keys for the vehicle."

"Thank you." Ron said. The witch smiled at him and gave a nasty look to Hermione. He glared back at the witch and stepped closer to Hermione, taking her elbow.

As soon as he touched her, Hermione wondered why she was mad at him. How can one person's touch make such feelings come up? She let Ron lead her out of the ranger's station, grinning. He let go of her arm when they got out. She remembered why she was mad at him when he wasn't touching her anymore.

"The house came with this vehicle. Luckily, it's a magical vehicle, so I can drive it." He grinned, "Shame it doesn't fly, though."

Harry laughed, remembering that fiasco. "This would be easier, though, if it flew. Two days in this thing?"

"Well," said Ron getting in, "Not two full days. We'll drive all day today. Tonight we'll stop and camp, and then by lunch or a little after tomorrow, we'll be there."

Ginny asked, "Ron, what kind of camp?"

Ron responded, "I have a tent here that will keep the cold and wind out. It's got a kitchen, a bedroom, and everything! You girls can take the bedroom, and Harry and I will bunk in the living room in sleeping bags."

Hermione and Ginny were both impressed with Ron's planning. They crawled into the backseat of the green vehicle and got comfortable. This thing was obviously magical. Instead of a regular backseat, it was cushy like a couch and had a small table in between the seats. Harry settled himself up front with Ron, and they started up the road.

Several hours later, Hermione pulled some small pill-looking objects out of a bag and pointed her wand at them. "Instant lunch. Nice, Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione smiled and handed Harry a turkey club on wheat. She handed Ginny a ham sandwich with extra pickles and Ron got a bacon sandwich with tomatoes.

"This is great, Mione," said Ron with his mouth full, only blushing slightly at using his nickname for her.

Hermione grinned back and took a bite of her own turkey sandwich. Lunch passed and they got back on the road. Harry laid his head on a cushion and was soon asleep.

Ginny and Hermione played cards for an hour or so, then Ginny dozed. Ron looked back and saw that Hermione was the only one still awake.

He drove for another ten minutes or so before speaking. "Um, Hermione, Ginny told me you have taken an interest in designing?" He looked back at her hopefully.

After a minute, he decided she wasn't going to answer. He sighed and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. Then she spoke. "Yes, designing is something I've always enjoyed reading about. Ginny showed me some of her work, and I gave her some ideas. She seemed to like them, so she comes and asks me for help sometimes."

Ron's grip on the steering wheel relaxed. She talked to him. She actually spoke! He decided to press his luck. "Well, when did this partnership of sorts start?"

Hermione said, "About five months ago."

He heard her answer him in a slightly snappish tone. He wondered why, for about two seconds. "Oh," he said.

She glared at him a minute. He cleared his throat. "Hermione, why did---"

"No, Ron."

"But--"

"I said no, Ron." She picked up a pillow and leaned against the seat cushion and closed her eyes.

He retightened his grip on the wheel. 'Bloody woman. Won't even tell me what I did wrong,' he thought.

Harry woke up with a bump. The girls in the back jumped as well. He looked over at Ron, who was sitting up tall and pale without taking his eyes off the road, apologized. "So sorry. The snow's starting to come down now pretty good, and I didn't see that bump. It's starting to get dark."

"Why don't we stop here, Ron?" asked Ginny. "We can't go much further tonight anyway, and I'm getting hungry."

Ron nodded in agreement and pulled over off the road. He turned around and looked at Ginny. "You and Hermione stay here until we come back for you. We'll set up the tent and be right back."

Ron and Harry put their hats and scarves on and got out. The wind was really picking up. Hermione and Ginny watched as Harry pulled a small bundle out of his pocket. He enlarged it and tapped it three times with his wand, muttering to himself. The tent set itself up. The charm on it held well. It didn't even sway in the wind that was starting to rock the car. As they started back for the car, Hermione quickly put on a scarf and hat. Ginny did the same. Hermione grabbed a bag off the floor of the vehicle, and stuck it in her pocket.

Harry opened the door and held his hand out. Ginny took it and climbed from the vehicle. The wind almost knocked her off her feet. Harry kept a firm grip on her arm and led her the short distance to the tent. As soon as she walked in, she felt better. They could still hear the wind outside, but inside was snug and dry; there was even a fireplace going. She turned to the tent flap to see Ron stumble in with Hermione. Harry sealed the door of the tent and looked around. Hermione and Ginny warmed their hands until someone's stomach growled. Ginny snuck a look at Ron, who grinned somewhat sheepishly back at her. She rolled her eyes laughing and walked to the kitchen. Hermione followed her.

Ron was standing at the fire, looking lost. Harry stepped over. "Mate, what's wrong?"

"She hates me, Harry. I thought we could talk and it was okay for a minute. We actually said two sentences to each other. Then she just shut down. She's never going to come back to me." He set his shoes down by the fire and sat on the floor, sticking his feet out towards the fire.

Harry sat down next to him and sighed. He didn't know why Hermione quit talking to Ron, but he figured maybe Ginny did. "Don't worry, Ron, it'll all come out." The two guys stood at the fire, warming their feet.

Hermione and Ginny were in the small kitchen, pulling plates and cups out of cabinets. As they set the table, Ginny spoke to Hermione. "I think that drive took it out of Ron. He looks terrible."

Hermione looked over at him and saw Ginny was right. It could have been the drive. She didn't think it was, however. She realized that as much as Ron hurt her, she hurt him by not letting him explain. She felt her gaze soften and he turned and caught her eye. Flustered, she turned back to the table. Hermione placed more of the small food pills on each plate. She pointed her wand at each of them.

As soon as Ron smelled the food, he walked to the table. He sat down to a plate of hot bread and a big bowl of stew. Pumpkin juice filled the glasses. For several minutes, the only noise in the tent was the fire and the clinking of glasses and spoons in the bowls.

Hermione sat there thinking. She knew rationally that Ron Weasley wouldn't just have a one night stand with her. They had been best friends since they were eleven. She knew he had liked her since school. There could be an explanation for his sending an owl first thing to another woman. She remembered the night they spent together and blushed into her soup. When she looked up, he was staring at her. He gave her a hopeful sort of smile, which she returned.

Harry looked between both his friends and started talking. "So Ginny, what plans do you have for this hellhole we're headed for?"

Ginny started to explain some of her ideas, but Ron wasn't listening. He felt something brush his foot. Looking up at Hermione, he thought he saw her smirk slightly before taking a bite of bread. He turned his attention back to his sister, when he felt it again. He snapped his attention back to her. This time he was sure she was grinning behind her pumpkin juice. He started to eat, but was waiting. Sure enough, her foot slid by his again, brushing his ankle. With his other foot, he quickly moved it over hers and trapped her foot in between his. She struggled to get loose, but he held on tight. He looked up at her and grinned. She glared back at him, but her eyes didn't hold any anger. Her foot relaxed. He saw her shift her attention back to Harry and Ginny's conversation. He turned to listen as well, holding her foot with his, rubbing it slowly.

After dinner, Ginny told Ron that he and Harry had to do dishes, since she and Hermione "cooked." The girls went and changed into warm pajamas. They came out and sat in front of the fire.

Suddenly, there was a noise in the back of the tent. Harry was closest, and took off into the small bedroom, Ron right behind him.

Harry saw a small tree branch through a hole in the tent. "Damn," he said, walking over to it. It was getting cold fast in the small room. Ron backed out quickly, and walked into the small living area. Harry came out a minute later and shut the door to the bedroom. He muttered a spell, and the door locked.

"What's happened Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Tree branch broke through the tent in the room. It can be fixed, but from the outside only. It was getting cold in there, so I shut and locked the door. We'll all have to stay in here tonight.

Ginny's jaw dropped. She and Hermione were supposed to be in the bedroom, and Harry and Ron were sleeping in sleeping bags in the living room. She knew there wasn't much of a choice though, now. She pulled two more sleeping bags out of the trunk Ron brought, full of blankets and such. She set them all up in a line in front of the fire. She turned around. "Who gets which bag?"

**I hope you liked it. Who do you think should be in each bag?**

** Don't worry, Ron will explain things soon, but probably not before they get up to the actual cabin!**

**Reviews are loved and virtual pudding for everyone who does!**


	4. Waking Up

**Disclaimer- Still not JK. :)**

**I've never written romantic scenes, and this one isn't too much. It's small, but hey, we aren't ready to throw them in bed together, are we? Baby steps!**

Ginny sighed and turned on her back. She was lying in on the floor of the tent. On her right was Hermione. On her left was Harry. He and Ron decided that they would sleep on the outside of the line, so that the girls would stay warmer. She could hear Hermione's steady breathing, and knew she was asleep. Ron's soft snoring came from Hermione's other side. Turning her head a little to look at Harry, she was met with his open eyes.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he whispered back.

She grinned at him. Speaking softly she said, "I think we can be friends now. It's not like Ron will send you or me packing."

"Good. It was hard today pretending like I didn't want to talk to you. Because you hated me, of course."

Ginny sat up on her elbow. "Harry. I never hated you. I was hurt. There is a difference there, you know. I could never hate you."

"Shhh, Ginny. Don't wake them up. I'm glad you didn't hate me. I hated me, though." He admitted as he watched her lay back down and shift so she was facing him.

She looked in his eyes. "I missed you, Harry."

"I missed you, too, Gin. I never meant to hurt you. I know it probably doesn't matter now, but I'm sorry," he looked down at the rug.

She reached out and lifted his chin with her fingers, forcing him to look at her. "I'm sorry, too. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to jump back into things so fast. We were both at fault for this. I shouldn't have blamed you for everything." She bit her lip.

Harry stared at her mouth, remembering kisses they shared. His gaze drifted over to her hair. It glowed with flecks of gold and flashes of red from the dying fire behind them. He reached out the pushed a strand that had fallen back behind her ear. His fingertips gently caressed her ear, making her breath hitch, moving down her cheek, finally leaving her at her jaw. He leaned into her slowly, tilting his head towards hers.

Ginny watched him as he found her face with his eyes. When his eyes fell back on her lips and he started moving slowly to her, she stopped breathing. Feeling his breath on her lips, she closed her eyes. A second later, Harry's lips found hers. Sighing, she kissed back. Ginny put her hands on Harry's face, pulling him closer to her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other got tangled in her hair. Merlin, he missed her hair.

They broke apart after several minutes, both breathing heavily, and stared at each other. He smiled tenderly at her. "Wow," he whispered.

Ginny grinned and nodded. "Wow is right."

Laying his head down on his pillow, he held Ginny's hand, running his fingers through hers, rediscovering the softness and shape. He wrapped both large hands around her smaller one. It was like ice. "You cold?" he asked.

"No. Well, a little. The fire has gone down and I left my wand on the table in the kitchen."

Harry sat up and reached for his jeans sitting on the chair near them. He pulled his wand out and restarted the fire. Tossing it back in the direction of his pants, he lay back down. She had turned her back to him, snuggling down into her sleeping bag. He reached out and ran his hands through her hair. She sighed and after a few minutes her breathing became regular. He reached out and put a hand on her stomach, pulling her to him, so her back was resting against his chest. Inhaling her scent, and feeling like he was finally home, Harry drifted off to sleep.

Hermione woke up with an elbow to her chest. Gasping and rubbing, she sat up and glared. Ron, however, didn't notice that he had done any damage. He jumped up and looked down at his best friend and sister, eyes wide with disbelief. Hermione looked over and saw Harry's arm draped loosely across Ginny's waist. Ginny's hand was covering Harry's arm. They were both asleep with looks of peace on their faces. Before he could do anything rude, like wake them up, Hermione jumped up out of her sleeping bag.

"Ron," she hissed quietly, "Let's go in the kitchen."

When he didn't move, but just stared with his mouth dropped open like a fish out of water, she huffed impatiently and grabbed his hand. Her touch brought him out of his shock and he let her lead him to the kitchen, looking a little dazed at his hand clasped in hers.

Hermione turned on the stove to heat the small kitchen and set a kettle to boil for tea. She looked over at Ron, who was sitting at the small table, yawning. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and asked, "What was that? I thought she hated him. He tried to talk to her the other night and he came home upset saying she still hated him." He looked up, waiting for a reaction.

She sat down at the table. "Ron, she doesn't hate him. She still loves him. Letting him go was the hardest thing she's ever done."

Ron looked up at Hermione, and saw tears forming in her eyes. He might not be all awake yet, with no morning caffeine, to boot, but he didn't think she was talking about just Harry and Ginny.

"Hermione?"

She turned her back to start fixing tea, wiping her eyes quickly, trying not to let him see. "Yes, Ron?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Setting two cups of steaming tea down, she sat back in her chair and looked at him. "You can ask anything you like, but remember, I have some questions for you, too."

He nodded. "Well, I just have the one question, actually. Why did you leave?"

She took a deep breath. "I left because of her."

Ron looked at her confused, "Her who?"

"Sophia."

Ron sat back so quickly his chair almost toppled over. "Sophia? What's she got to do with any of this? How do you know about her?"

Anger rose in Hermione and she stood over him, "What's she got to DO with any of this? Use your brain for once, Ronald. Let me give you a scenario here. Try to keep up. We flirt around our feelings for each other for years. We've been best friends since we were eleven. You finally get the nerve to ask me out after more than ten years and I say yes. We go have a wonderful time. We come back to MY place and spend most of the night making amazing love. In the morning, you get up before me, and decide to get us some tea. On your way back into the room, you see me finishing a letter."

Ron's heart dropped. He knew what happened. "Mione, let me…."

She continued like he didn't interrupt. "You hear me tell my owl to take it to another man. What would you have done, Ron?"

He looked at her with sorrow filled eyes. "Mione. Sophia is my.."

"I don't care who that girl is Ron! You obviously care enough about her to…."

"Hermione! She's not a girl! She's my psychiatrist!" He sat back down hard in the chair and put his face in his hands.

She stood with her mouth open for a minute before closing it. She rubbed her hands over her eyes. 'Oh, Merlin, no. This isn't happening. I'm not the one who starts rows and gets jealous and messes up our relationship. That's always been something he did.' When she realized she made the mistake this time, she did the first thing she thought of. She laughed.

Ron jerked his head up and glared at her. "Oh, sure, laugh at Ron. Ron the idiot who needs a shrink. That's all I'm good for anyway, just a good laugh." He got up and started to stomp past her. She grabbed his arm, no longer smiling.

"Ron, wait. I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you for seeing a psychiatrist. I was laughing because this is the first time I've been mad at you about something that was my fault! I should have let you explain when I heard you send off that owl. I should have trusted you more to know that you wouldn't hurt me like that. I should have loved you more. I should have…"

Ron cut her off. "You're right. You should have let me explain. Will you let me now?"

She nodded, and let go of his arm. She sat back down and he followed her. Ron took a sip of his tea, and thought for a minute. "These episodes I was having. Do you know what would happen to me?"

Hermione shook her head, "The only thing Ginny or Harry ever said was that you would get in this trance-like mode and you would talk nonsense. It would only last an hour or so, but you were sick for a day after."

"Yeah, that's putting it mildly. I would relive that night for awhile, everything that happened, then I would relive all the times in school that we fought, or when Harry would get in trouble, or when I was hurt, or when you were hurt. I would feel every bad feeling I ever had, pain that was physical and mental. I would be sick, and angry and if I tried to fight something, it would just make it worse. I had this curse go through me for an hour, then after it left, I was weak and couldn't use my arm for a full day or so. I had to take calming droughts, and healing potions. I had to make myself calm down. And you know how easy it is for me to calm down," he grinned at her.

"Oh, Ron," was all Hermione could say.

"I was assigned a psychiatrist from the auror department after one episode that I couldn't control myself and ended up breaking my own arm. I was fine the rest of the month, but those nights…..I almost understand what Lupin goes through. She made me write down everything that happened after an episode. The week after, I'd go to her office, and we'd talk about it. She'd give me ideas to try to see if it would make them not so….bad." He stopped a minute and drank some tea.

"Ginny told me you haven't had an episode for awhile now."

He looked up at her and blushed. "Not since the night we were together. I was supposed to have one the next day, but I'd forgotten about it, I was so happy you agreed to go out with me." Suddenly embarrassed, he looked into his tea. "I was always happy, I guess, but when we were together that night, a different kind of happy was there. It was like…"

"Love."

"You felt it too, then?" Hope flashed in his eyes. When he was with Hermione, it was an experience like no other. He wanted nothing more in that moment than hold her in his arms forever and never let her go. He wanted to work his whole life making sure she was happy and taken care of. It's intensity scared him, but made him feel whole at the same time.

She reached across the table and took his hand. "Yes, Ron, I felt it. I've loved you forever, but that night was a whole different experience."

Ron took a shaky breath, "That morning when I woke up, I realized that the time had passed for me to have my thing. I wrote a letter to Sophia explaining what happened. Not all of it, of course," he amended, seeing Hermione's eyes widen, "and I sent it off with Pig. I was coming downstairs to explain everything to you, but you were gone."

Hermione had tears running down her face. "I'm so sorry, Ron, I should have let you…." She couldn't finish, but broke into sobs. He rounded the table and gathered her to him.

"It's ok, Mione, don't cry," he pleaded. He cupped her cheeks and looked in her face, using his thumbs to brush tears away. "I haven't had a single episode since that night. YOU did that for me. Just that one memory. It filled me with so much happiness and love that the bad times are just a distant memory now."

Sniffling, she put her arms around his neck and held onto him. He kissed the top of her head and just sighed. His Mione was back in his arms. Closing his eyes, he just breathed her in. Opening his eyes, he saw Ginny standing in the door of the kitchen. He smiled at her.

"Getting up? About time."

She smirked at him, "If you must know, we both woke up about ten minutes ago. We heard Hermione telling you to use your brain. We couldn't help but hear everything that followed. The snowstorm let up, so it was quiet in here…."

Harry poked his head around the corner. "You both should have done this in school. Sat down and talked. It would have made things so much easier." He grinned at his best friends.

Hermione pulled back from Ron's embrace, feeling the cold air when she let go. "I'm going to make some breakfast. Why don't you pack up everything and we'll go after we eat."

Ron leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Okay." He walked out of the kitchen with Harry to pack up. Ginny helped Hermione make some bacon and toast. They worked in silence, and the four of them sat down to a quick breakfast.

Several hours later, Ron pulled the vehicle up a drive that curved through some trees. He parked in front of his new place. "We're here," he grinned.


	5. Decisions Decisions

Ginny looked up at the clock. She and Hermione had been working for over an hour. Standing up from her chair, she stretched. Hermione looked up grateful and closed her book. She told Ginny she'd go get them some tea.

So far, she thought, she was doing pretty well. She thought it may take more than a week to get the whole house finished, but she could definitely get the main rooms done before Friday.

The kitchen would definitely be first. The old cabinets were cracked and worn, and doors were missing on half of them. The counter was linoleum. Who used that any more? And it was a pasty shade of olive green, too. Obviously it hadn't been update in, well, ever. The floors were a joke. There was actually one spot on the floor that was just covered with a piece of board. She shook her head, hoping Ron didn't pay much for the place.

Going through the different color and wood schemes in her head, she heard someone come back through the door. Thinking it was Hermione, she asked, "What do you think of the red color scheme for the kitchen?"

"I've always been partial to red," a deep voice said.

Whipping her head around, she saw Harry. "Hi. Where's Hermione?"

"Ron made some tea in the kitchen, for he and I, actually, but when she walked in, he gave her my cup." He laughed. "So I thought I'd come see how things were going in here."

Ginny showed Harry the three different choices she and Hermione had made for the kitchen. The first was a combination of blues, creams, and light oak. It would open the kitchen. The walls would be cream, with a blue strip running waist high around the room. The counters and cabinets would have a light oak finish. The floor would be brick. All the options had brick floors, actually.

The second choice was yellow and walnut. It would be similar to Ginny's own kitchen, but she wouldn't add the terracotta suns. She loved the suns, but it was obviously a girl thing, she couldn't see Ron liking them. There would be some terracotta touches, plant holders and some small things, but the majority would just be yellow.

The third, and Ginny's favorite, but this was ultimately up to Ron, was the red. She loved it. The walls would be a deep taupe. A red solid border would be at the ceiling level and another wide stripe around the room, again, waist high. The cabinets were maple, with glass in the doors. The counters were going to be black marble, with taupe and red splotches in them. Ginny loved it.

Harry studied the three different rooms. He was drawn to the red, but that was probably because of being a Gryffindor and the fact that the woman sitting next to him was a red head. He pointed to the first one. "I like this, but I don't see it being very Ron. He's not really a blue person."

"Yeah, I know, that's just one of the most popular ones I do, so I thought I'd show him that choice. It looks great, but like you say, he really isn't a blue person." She giggled, thinking of Ron with blue hair, the color Tonks used to have.

She rubbed her eyes, "They are all starting to blur together anyway. I need a break. That's why Hermione went downstairs to get us some tea. Guess she's getting some, but I'm not."

Harry chuckled. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to enjoy this tea I brought up here by myself. He walked to the door and picked up a tray she hadn't noticed. She squealed and settled herself down on the couch in the room. She and Hermione had removed all the sheets covering the furniture in the study, but the room was still making them sneeze. They scourgified the whole room and relaxed after Hermione lit some vanilla candles. A fire started in the fireplace made the room feel good, even if it was still a wreck. The couch was comfortable, however, and clean. Harry set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down next to Ginny.

They enjoyed their tea and talked about the house. It was huge, a kitchen, dining area, a large living area, a study, and a bathroom, just downstairs. She and Hermione had used the study on the second floor, though. It was bigger and didn't have books in every corner. The second floor had two baths, four bedrooms, and two more studies. The third floor was one big room, perfect for parties. Ginny and Hermione were going to fix up the kitchen, living area, two of the bedrooms, and the baths this week. They would come back another time to do the rest of the house. After a few minutes of small talk, Ginny set her tea down. She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. Her back was still aching from sleeping on the floor last night. She unconsciously rubbed the back of the neck.

"You ok?" Harry asked, concern filling his green eyes.

She could get lost in those eyes. "Yes, just tense from sleeping on the floor. I'm used to….well, a bed."

"Come here," he said, leaning back against the cushions and spreading his legs so she could sit in between them. She moved over to his lap and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees with her head hanging.

Harry's hands started rubbing her back with light circles. He moved up to her shoulders after a minute, using pressure to work out the kinks. His thumbs made circles down her spine and she felt herself melting into him. He started massaging her arms and she sunk back against him. She had forgotten how well she fit into him. He was bigger now than he was in school, but she had grown too. They still fit together perfectly. She sighed.

When she leaned back into him, he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and put his chin on her head. He closed his eyes and squeezed lightly. She turned her head and looked up at him. Smiling, he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. She reached up a hand and placed it on Harry's neck. Pulling him back to her, she kissed him again. His grip on her tightened as he deepened the kiss. She shifted so she could reach him better. She left the one hand on his neck and used the other to run her fingers through his hair. He gasped as she used her fingernails to lightly scratch the back of his neck. He licked her bottom lip and was pleased when she opened her mouth for him. Their tongues met and battled.

She finished turning herself around and placed one leg on either side of Harry's. His hands gripped her hips as they kissed. She instinctively pressed herself against him. He growled, bucking back at her with his hips. He left her mouth and started kissing her jaw, moving down to her neck. Ginny tilted her head to let him have better access. One of his hands moved off her hip and started moving up her stomach, under her shirt. He felt the lace at the bottom of Ginny's bra. His hands traced the underside all the way around to her back. He stopped his assault on her neck and looked at her. She had her eyes half closed and several small marks were red on her neck. She nodded mutely and he brought his mouth crushing to hers. His hands sneaked back around from her back, and moved to cup her breast through the lacy fabric. She moaned in his mouth and ground down on him.

He reached back around her again, this time going for the clasp of her bra, when voices sounded in the hall. Hermione's voice was carrying, telling Ron that Ginny had some samples for the kitchen ready for him. Ginny jumped of Harry's lap and adjusted her shirt. She ran her hands through her hair and picked up her cup of now cold tea. Harry sat back and tried to calm his breathing.

Ron came in the room first and saw his best mate and sister drinking tea. "Hey, there you are. I didn't know where you went off to."

"I wanted some tea, and you gave Hermione my cup," he said wryly. "So I made some more and thought Ginny might like a cup. She showed me the kitchen samples. I think they're brilliant. There are three of them, so you are going to have a hard time choosing. It really all comes down to the type of woodwork you like." He was babbling, and knew it, so he shut up.

Looking at Harry strangely, Ron asked, "You alright mate?" He looked over at Hermione, who was grinning at Ginny. He looked over at Ginny, who was blushing. She was rubbing her neck absently and trying not to look at anyone. "Okay, anyway, come on, Gin, show me what you have."

Ron sat down at the desk in the study. Ginny sat on his right, then suddenly got up and moved to his left. Hermione looked at Ginny's neck and started laughing to herself. She rolled her eyes and gave Ginny a look that promised they'd talk later. She moved around the two red heads and sat down on the other side of Ron. Harry stayed on the couch.

Ginny pulled out the samples she had of the kitchen. She explained to Ron each color scheme and what it would take to do them. He concentrated on the samples for a few minutes, before turning to Hermione. "Which one do you like?"

Hermione stammered, "M-me? This is your kitchen, Ron. It's supposed to be something that you like and that calms you."

He argued, "Yes, but I want your opinion."

She looked overly pleased he'd asked her opinion, and promptly pointed to the red one. He picked up the page and wood samples and paint swatches. Turning to the couch, he told Harry, "C'mon, Harry, come down to the kitchen and help me."

Harry jumped off the couch and followed Ron out. Before he left the room, he turned to Ginny and winked. She grinned after him and turned to see Hermione staring at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You have three love bites on your neck and Harry 'I hate him and will never forgive him for being such a prat' Potter just winked at you. Since those marks weren't there earlier, and there are only two men in this house, one of them being your _brother_, I'm assuming something happened here during tea."

Ginny mock glared at her best friend. "I never said I hated him. I just didn't like him for quite some time. We talked the other night before we came up here and worked some things out. We decided to be friends."

"Friends?" Hermione scoffed. "What kind of friends exactly?" once again looking pointedly at her neck.

Ginny's hand went up to her neck. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and muttered a concealment charm. "The kind of friends who missed each other and knew it was a mistake to stop seeing each other. The kind who have had pent up sexual chemistry forever, and who had an opportunity to let some of it go. The kind who knows almost everything there is to know about each other. The kind…."

"Ok, ok Ginny, I get it," Hermione said. "That kind of friends. Well, I'm not all that surprised. This morning when Ron woke me up flipping out, I saw you. Cuddling, I mean. You two just looked so at peace. Happy, even."

"Really? Well, I'm not surprised, either. I was always happiest when Harry was around." Ginny said, thinking of their carefree days at Hogwarts.

"Gee, thanks, Gin." Hermione teased. Ginny shot her a look.

"You know what I mean. You aren't happy, either, unless my brother is involved somehow. Now how was your tea? I mean, you were gone at least half an hour. I didn't hear any yelling or dishes breaking or anything, so you must not have been talking too much."

Hermione blushed and grinned, "That's not fair. We were talking about you here."

"Now we're done talking about me. It's your turn. Obviously I heard this morning's nice conversation, have you two decided what your are going to do about it?"

She looked at her best friend, "We decided to try again. He said he's wasted too much time not acting on his feelings, and he's tired of it. So it'll probably start off slow, but we're working on it." Hermione beamed at her best friend.

Ginny nodded and leaned back in her chair. A week stuck in this cabin with Harry, and Hermione and Ron trying to take things slow. This was going to be an interesting week.

"So, Harry," Ron asked, holding two paint swatches against the wall and peering at them, "wanna tell me why my baby sister looked so out of breath up there? And why she looks like she lost a fight with a vampire?"

Harry flushed, then flinched, remembering he left his wand upstairs. He wondered if Ron was going to punch him now, or later.

Ron turned around to see Harry's face, trying to look like the protective brother. Harry tried to say something. "Um. Uh, well. You see, I, uh, we, I mean, I, uh…."

Ron couldn't hold it any more. Harry Potter, who took down Voldemort and six of his death eaters with one spell was afraid of Ron Weasley? He busted out laughing, leaning against the wall and holding his sides.

Harry looked flushed and scared, but when Ron started laughing, it quickly turned into a deeper flush and anger. "What are you laughing at?" he demanded.

"You, mate. I can see now how much Ginny 'hates' you. I wish Hermione hated me like that!" he couldn't help to say. He sobered quickly and looked Harry dead in the eye. "But mate, seriously, if you hurt her again, I will make sure you can never reproduce, ok?" He grinned and turned back to the wall. "I think the red is going to be good, don't you?"

Harry shook his head to clear it. Did Ron just give him his blessing, a threat, and ask for kitchen advice all in one breath? He tried to catch up. "Yeah, the red's my favorite."

Ron smirked, giving him a knowing look, "Yeah, we all know how much you like red."

"Shut it, Ron. Seriously, I think the Gryffindor look of it is good. You may want to go with similar colors for the living room."

"One room at a time, please, Harry," said Ginny, sweeping into the kitchen, Hermione following right behind her.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, how much did the girls hear? Ron turned to his sister. "I like the red. I want this in the kitchen."

Ginny grinned, "Great! I'll start it tomorrow morning! Now, I'm hungry. Who's cooking dinner tonight?"

Ginny, Ron, and Harry all turned and looked at Hermione. She huffed, "Me? I made lunch and dinner yesterday! And helped with breakfast this morning."

"But Mione," Ron whined, "It was good. I want good food. Please? I'm hungry."

Hermione rolled her eyes. He sounded just like a child sometimes. She was smiling a little though, and nodded. "Ok, I'll cook. But Ron, you can set the table, and Ginny and Harry can clean up after dinner." Without another word, she flounced over to the stove, where she placed several pots and pans on it. She waved her wand around a few times, and soon an appetizing smell filled the room.

Ron leaned back and rubbed his stomach. "That was amazing, Mione, really."

She blushed, saying, "Thanks, Ron."


	6. Cannon Orange

**So sorry about the delay. Root canal, sick child, evil cell phone eating dog. Anyway, this chapter isn't much except for some smut and fluff. I'l think of a plot, but it won't be huge. Please don't forget to review. I live for them, they make me smile like nothing else. **

**This chapter is totally dedicated to a great group of people. Jared, Ryah, Sky, Tay, Shannon, Jade, and even Beth. I love you guys. **

The next three days were full of work. Ginny and Hermione, after constantly getting decisions made from Ron, transformed the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and both bedrooms upstairs. They were working on revamping the plumbing fixtures in the main bath upstairs.

"Ginny, seriously, orange?" Hermione whined.

"That's what he wants. Just be glad this is the only room he wants this color in. Besides, it won't be totally orange. He told me as long as it has a Cannon feel to it, he's happy."

"It's a _bath. _Relaxing in a tub surrounded by candles and bubbles and Cannon memorabilia. That is so Ron."

"You just watch, Hermione," Ginny said, "I have big plans for this place. You go see what they guys are making for supper, and when you get back, I'll show you what I'm going to do."

Hermione walked down the stairs. Coming out in the living room, she looked around with pride. What things Ginny could make happen with her wand. The old carpet had been ripped out and lovely hardwood floors were under it. They were buffed and shined. The mantle about the fireplace had been replaced and painted white. The walls were taupe, with white chair rail moldings and molding on the ceiling. She transformed the old couch into a new blue couch, with a matching oversized chair beside it. A cherry coffee table and two side tables filled the rest of the room. Blue and white striped curtains covered the windows. She smiled, thinking the curtains were her contribution to the room, and everyone agreed that they tied everything together just right.

Still grinning, she walked into the kitchen. She saw Harry holding Ron's arm looking down at his scar. She stopped and just watched. Ron had a look of awe on his face.

"Mate, it's definitely fading." Harry said.

"I know, isn't that great?" Ron replied, grinning. Turning around, he saw Hermione standing in the doorway. He pulled his arm from Harry's grip. Walking up to her, he picked her up and swung her in circles. "It's going away!"

"That's great, Ron! I wonder why it's doing it?"

"Who cares? It's going away!" Ron replied excitedly.

She looked at Harry. "So, Harry. Ginny's upstairs doing some decorating to Ron's bathroom. She said something about you guys making dinner?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "We've made dinner the past three nights. Don't you think it's your turn?"

Glaring at him, she said, "No. I don't. We've been working all day long making this place livable. What have you and Ron been doing?"

Ron quickly interrupted. "Ok, we'll make dinner." He looked over at Harry with a warning look not to say anything else. He and Harry were redoing the third floor, trying to make it fixed up enough so that they could have a small party in it before they left.

Realizing he still had a hold of Hermione, he quickly let her go, blushing. They were taking things slow, he knew, but the past couple days of watching her reach up and help paint corners or hang curtains really were making him question his time-table. She wore sweatpants and t-shirts, which normally aren't that sexy, but when she would reach up for something or bend down, her shirt would ride up and he couldn't help but admire her stomach or back that peeked through the gap. He remembered their night together, so he knew what she looked like under all those clothes, but it wasn't enough to remember. He wanted to see it all again, touch it, taste it.

Harry smirked, recognizing Ron's discomfort. He knew he should be taking it slow with Ginny, but both of them were trying to make up for lost time. They hadn't been much further than the first day on the couch, but things were progressing. He just looked at Ron, who was still red, and said, "I'm going to help Ginny. Why don't you take a break Hermione. Sit down and enjoy some….tea or something." With that, he disappeared up the stairs.

Hermione turned to Ron. They locked eyes and for a minute, there was nothing else in the world going on but the way they felt. Suddenly Ron dipped his head and kissed her. It took her by surprise, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. His arms circled her waist and he ran his arms up and down her sides. They broke apart, both a little breathless. Hermione turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Ron stood there dumbfounded, till she came back in, took him by the hand and led him into the living room.

Pushing him onto the couch, she sat in his lap facing him and resumed kissing him.

Ginny had her eyes closed, trying to picture the finished product of the room. She already transfigured the plumbing. A new tub sat in the floor. It was a step down tub with jets. The double vanity and stand up shower with bench filled one wall. A towel closet and toilet were on another wall. Taking out her wand, she pointed it at the paint sample and flicked her wrist. She started at the top and moved her arm down. Cannon orange filled the room. After painting the small area, she turned on the taps in the sink. Splashing cold water on her face, she relaxed. It didn't seem like much work, but she had to see exactly what she wanted for it to appear. She wiped her face on a towel and opened her eyes. Shrieking slightly, she jumped back and landed on the floor.

Harry grinned down at her. "Hi, Gin. Want to take a break?"

"Merlin, Harry, you scared me." Ginny said with her hand on her heart. "Ok, I'll take a break. I don't have much left to do in here, except for the floor and decorations, anyway. I'll do that after supper."

Harry helped her up and they made their way down the hall. They went into the study and sat on the couch. Ginny was in Harry's lap leaning against his chest. She could hear his heart beating steadily and was comforted.

Harry ran his hands through her hair and turned her face to his. "Ginny," he said, looking in her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and looked away.

Ginny looked at him worriedly. "What is it, Harry? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Gin, I was just thinking about what a prat I was after the war. I know I told you I was sorry, and you said you forgave me, but I don't know. I'm really sorry and just don't know how to make it up to you."

Ginny felt her temper building up. "Harry, you can't keep doing this to yourself. If I told you I wouldn't forgive you, then you would have a reason to try and make it up to me. But I told you it's okay, and we were both at fault. We were young and trauma makes people do stupid stuff. We're okay now, we're working on it, we'll be okay. Just relax. Have fun with me. Learn me again. I missed you too much to have to convince you that it's okay to be with me." Her voice had risen during her speech and she realized she was yelling at him. "I'm sorry, Harry, I shouldn't have yelled." She laughed quietly. "I'll bet you didn't miss that, did you? My Weasley temper."

"Actually, Miss Weasley, that's one of the reasons I love you so much. You aren't afraid to let anyone know what you think. Or feel." Harry wrapped her tighter in his arms and placed a kiss on her head.

"Y-you love me?" Ginny stammered.

_Did I say that out loud? Oh, cripes, I did._ Trying to think of something to say so she wouldn't run away scared, he was lost. He let out a breath and decided to go for broke. "Yeah, I do. I have since my sixth year." Harry leaned his head back to look at her, trying to calculate her face.

Ginny turned to look him in the eyes. To his surprise, her brown eyes were wet. "I thought you didn't love me. I thought that's why you left. I've loved you since I was a little girl. I never stopped. Even these past few years. I still do. I love you."

Harry wiped two tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. He cupped her face and looked at her with a very serious face. "I love you, Ginny." He lowered his head and brushed his lips gently on hers. He kissed her again with more pressure. Ginny responded immediately, putting her arms around his neck and bringing their bodies flush with each other.

She reached tentatively at the hem of his shirt and placed her small hands on his stomach. She moved them up to his chest and moaned feeling his muscles. He pulled back from her and removed his shirt. His green eyes looked at her with question as his hands played with the first button of her shirt. She nodded and he started unbuttoning it, kissing the area that was exposed with each button. Soon her shirt joined his on the floor.

Harry moved on the couch so he was lying down. She lay on top of him and resumed her kisses. He played with the skin on her back, rubbing his hands up and down it, marveling in its softness. He made to put her under him, but the couch had other ideas. As he was rolling her under him, they fell off the couch and landed with a loud thud on the floor.

"Gods, Ginny, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he was terrified he'd hurt her.

Ginny started laughing and couldn't stop. She held on to Harry around his waist and just buried her head in his chest and laughed. Harry, relieved he hadn't hurt her, blushed. "It's not funny, Gin, I could have hurt you."

"Oh, lighten up, Harry, I'm fine. And it is funny," she gasped in between laughs. He finally realized her point and smiled. Soon they were laughing together on the floor.

Harry was still smiling at Ginny when she locked eyes with him. He immediately stopped laughing. She smiled at him, and reached out to touch his cheek. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. He leaned down and captured her lips with his again. This kiss was full of love and lust. She kissed back fiercely, and her hands went to his belt. She fumbled with the buckle and soon had it undone and the button of his jeans.

Clothes were soon in a pile near them, and Ginny and Harry lay together on the floor of the study, fire blazing behind them. He ran his hands up and down her body, and kissed everywhere his hands went. Soon Ginny was mumbling pleas in his ears. "Harry," she whispered, "Please, Harry, I need you."

"Are you sure, Ginny? I mean, I want to, and it'll be hard to stop now, but if you aren't ready…"

She cut him off with a searing kiss. "I'm ready, Harry, I've always been ready for you." With that, she guided him to her and wrapped her legs around his waist. He pushed in slowly, and after stopping a moment to kiss away a tear in Ginny's eye and letting her get used to him, he lost himself in Ginny Weasley. Ginny lost herself just as much in Harry Potter.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron sputtered. Hermione had started attacking his neck with kisses.

"Making out with you, what are you doing?" Hermione replied.

Ron didn't respond, but brought his lips crashing to hers. His hands moved expertly under her shirt and found her breasts covered in a lace bra. She moaned as he rubbed his thumbs softly over them. He broke off his kiss from her mouth and started on her jaw. He moved down her neck and bit lightly. Hermione sucked in her breath and ground her hips into him. One of his hands left her stomach and gripped her hip tightly.

He growled, "You may want to think about that. I don't know if I can…." He broke off as she ground down on him again. The friction was intense. He pulled her shirt off and took his off, too, before resuming his assault with his lips.

Suddenly, there was a loud thump upstairs. Ron and Hermione both looked up at the ceiling directly above them. They heard muffled talking, then laughing. After a minute, the laughing stopped and it got quiet again.

Ron said, "You don't think? No, he wouldn't, would he?" His ears turned red, and he started to get up. Hermione grabbed his wrists and kept him on the couch.

"Ron, stay here with me. Ginny's a big girl now, and Harry won't do anything she's not ready for. You know that. He loves her."

He took a deep breath, and the redness in his ears slowly faded as his anger subsided. "I know, Mione, but I'm supposed to worry. I'm the big brother."

"And a good big brother you are, too. But you're kind of busy yourself at the moment, aren't you?" she cooed.

He took her in his arms again and smiled. "Where was I?"

She took his hands and placed one on her hip and one on her breast. "Right here."

"Oh, yeah."

**OK, time to review. Please do. I've made a batch of rasberry lemonade, virtual, of course. Anyone who reviews gets a tall glass, with a straw, umbrella, and slice of pineapple!**


	7. Snow Day

**So here's another fluffy chapter. It snowed here today several inches and I got to play in it like a kid again. SO much fun. Anyway, I hope you like it, it's still not plot-worthy, but that's okay, cause it's good 'innocent' fluff. Enjoy.**

**Reviews for THIS chapter are rewarded with hot chocolate and fuzzy funny slippers, available in blue and pink.**

Lying on the couch, Ron put his arms around Hermione and just breathed in her scent. He closed his eyes, extremely happy. He ran his hands up her arms and under her shirt on her side. Bringing his hands over her hip, he felt a rough scar. He leaned over to see it and she pulled her shirt down quickly over it.

"What's that, Mione? Where did you get that scar?" Being in the war together and healing each other, he knew every scar and scrape on her body. This one came after the war, sometime between when he and Harry went off to Auror school and when she came to the cabin.

"It's nothing, Ron. Just a scar." Hermione looked at him and smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"But I know all your scars," Ron said, blushing immediately. "I mean, either Harry or I healed all of your injuries in the war. What else could you have done to leave a scar like that?"

"It's nothing, please leave it." Hermione wouldn't meet his eye and unwrapped herself from his arms. "I'm going to get a shower and go to bed."

He let her go and eventually went to bed himself. Not sleeping well wondering about her and what he did, he woke up early and made his way downstairs. Hermione was already down there. She looked like she hadn't slept. Her eyes had dark circles and her hair hung in her face. She looked up when he came in.

Ginny knew it was too good to be true. After four days of decorating and being cooped up in the house, all hell broke loose. She woke up the next morning after being with Harry, and stretched. She wasn't sure what woke her, it was only seven in the morning. She looked over at the other bed in the room, and saw that Hermione was already up and gone. Suddenly she heard what woke her up.

"It doesn't matter, Ronald! That was two years ago! You don't know what happened! Besides, you didn't even want me then!"

"What do you mean I didn't want you? I've wanted you since we were thirteen years old!"

"Could have fooled me! Why did you wait until we left school and let yourself almost get killed before you said something? Don't you think I wanted you too! I was waiting for you!"

Ginny groaned. Hearing her brother make a git of himself made her realize this wouldn't be another easy fun day. She rolled out of bed, throwing a thick robe on and her slippers. She stepped out of the bedroom door and met Harry in the hall.

He grinned at her and gave her a quick kiss. "Good morning," he said as the volume increased downstairs.

"For us, maybe. Why do they continue to fight like that? It's too early in the morning for this," she replied, entwining their fingers together as they walked down the stairs.

Turning in the kitchen, they were met with a familiar stance. Hermione was on one side of the table. She was standing with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. Ron was on the other side, with his hands on the table, leaning into her space.

"Forget it Ronald! You don't know what you're talking about. I don't think I want to see you today. Just leave me alone!" With that, Hermione ran out of the kitchen and stomped up the stairs.

Ron yelled at her back, "That's right! Just run off like before! Don't even consider that this is your fault!" He slammed his hands on the table and turned to the sink.

They heard Hermione stomp back down the stairs. She walked straight to Ron. He turned to look at her and she swiftly slapped him across the face. "Do not compare this to that. I am only leaving now to think about things. You make it so difficult sometimes to want you, did you know that?" Without waiting for an answer, she left the kitchen again. They could all hear her sobs coming from the stairs and then the door to her bedroom slammed shut.

Ginny walked over to Ron. He was filling a pot with water for tea. She jerked it out of his hand. "Don't you think you may want to, I don't know, GET UP THERE!"

Ron glared at her. "Don't you start on me, too. This is her problem this time. I haven't done anything wrong!" He sat down hard at the table and put his face in his hands. He sat there and breathed heavily for a minute before standing up so suddenly, the chair fell over. He threw the chair back under the table and made his way up the stairs.

Ginny brought two mugs of tea to the table and sat down. Sighing, she handed one to Harry. They sat there in silence until Harry cleared his throat.

"Hey, Ginny, I was thinking. We're leaving the day after tomorrow. You've done as much as you can with this place for now. Why don't we relax today and go out?"

Ginny looked past Harry to the window. It had been snowing for the past two days, but the sun was shining this morning. She grinned. "Okay, sure. We can play outside for awhile. Maybe Hermione and the git will come, too."

"Um, Ginny, I wanted to ask you about…er…well, last night. Are you…umm… ok this morning?"

She grinned at Harry. "I'm fine, Harry, better than fine, because we love each other. It was beautiful and perfect and I'm as happy as I've ever been."

Ron walked up the stairs slowly, trying to calm his breathing and still his temper. He knocked softly. "Mione? Can I come in?"

She didn't answer, but he heard her sniffle. He heard the door unlock and he opened it. Walking in, he saw her curled up on her bed, her face in her pillow and her wand in her hand.

She didn't make any protests when he shut the door and sat down at the foot of her bed. Ron sat there for a moment, not sure what to do. Should he comfort her? Let her shout at him? Shout at her? Her sobs racked her body, and his heart broke. Out of pure instinct, he hauled her up into his lap and let her bury her head in his chest. Stroking her hair with his hands, he just held her until her breathing calmed. He kissed her temple and murmured, "I'm sorry, love."

She kept her head buried in his chest and mumled, "It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

He tightened his hold on her and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Sniffling a little, she looked up at him and smiled a watery smile. She kissed his cheek and put her head on his shoulder. Her voice was shaky when she told him, "I'm going to tell you about this scar, Ron. I want you to know."

"Mione, I'll do anything you want. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay. I'm sorry I got mad. I just realized how much of your life I missed, and I'm just mad at myself."

"No, Ron, don't. This would have happened even if you were there." She shifted a little and got comfortable. Ron relaxed his grip on her and rested his hand on her hip. She leaned into him and laid her head on his chest.

"A couple years ago, I was in muggle London. I wanted to get a welcome home present for you and Harry. You had been gone for so many months at school, and we threw you that party, remember?"

Ron nodded his head. "Yeah, that's when Harry and Ginny got in that big fight. Mum got mad at George for spiking the punch and getting Dad drunk."

Hermione laughed lightly remembering Mr. Weasley attempting to dance that night. "Yeah, that's it. Well, it was about a week before the party. I was in Muggle London buying your present. It was late when I left and the last bus to my neighborhood was running late. I was at the bus stop when a man came up behind me and grabbed my arm. He put his hand to my side and told me he had a knife. He told me to drop my bags and purse and he would let me go. I did what he wanted. He picked up my stuff and grabbed my arm again. He was pulling me back toward the alley behind the stop."

At this statement, Hermione started to shake and Ron wrapped his arms around her again. He was doing all he could not to demand where this happened, to run and find this man who hurt his girl. As he opened his mouth to talk, she interrupted.

"As he pulled me back, the bus turned the corner. The lights caught us and he stuck his knife in my side, threw me down, and took off running. The bus driver jumped out and called the muggle police. They brought me to a hospital, where I had to have surgery and fix some bleeding. After three days in the hospital, I went home. I didn't tell anyone because I was ashamed."

"Ashamed?! Hermione, you were almost killed, honey, why would you be ashamed?"

"I had my wand, Ron. It was in my jacket and I could have just thrown him off of me with it. I was just so scared."

With that, she started crying again. He held her till she calmed down again. Brushing her hair out of her face, he stared at her. "I won't let anything like that happen to you again, do you understand me? I will protect you."

Hermione chuckled. "Ron, you can't be there all the time. Besides, we live miles apart. I've taken muggle defense classes since then. I hadn't thought of it in awhile, and it just got to me last night. I'm sorry."

Ron leaned down and kissed her gently. "I'm sorry for getting mad."

She looked at his face, and the still slightly reddened side. "I'm sorry I slapped you." She ran her fingers over the red mark lightly and leaned up and kissed it gently.

"I'm not, love. You knocked sense into me. I needed it." He smirked at her. As he leaned in for another kiss, his stomach growled. "Oh, you have to be kidding me."

Hermione giggled. She got up off the bed, pulling on his hands till he was standing with her. "Come on, you. Let's get you fed. Ginny has a whole list of things for me to do today. I need some nourishment, too."

They walked into the kitchen holding hands. Seated at the table was Harry, with Ginny in his lap. Ginny had her arms around Harry's neck and Harry's hands were nowhere to be seen.

"Oi! Potter! Hands off the sister!" Ron yelled.

Harry jumped back like someone shocked him. Ginny glared at Ron and opened her mouth to retort.

Ron smiled, "I love that you guys love each other. I really do. I just don't want to see it. Okay?"

Ginny's ears lessened in redness and she slid off Harry's lap. Walking over to Hermione, she took her hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Hermione, "I'm fine. Let's get some breakfast so we can get to work."

"Oh, we aren't working today, Mione." Ginny grinned. "Today is play day. Look, the snow stopped. After breakfast we're all going outside to play."

Ginny shrieked and ran behind the nearest tree. A snowball raced past her ear. She bent down and formed a ball of her own. Peeking out, she saw Harry sneaking her way. She waited till he got right on her then jumped out and hit him square in the face with the snow. Sputtering snow, he laughed. She stuck her tongue out and got a face full of snow herself. Harry pulled her to him and kissed her. She looped her foot around his knee and made him fall back into the snow, dragging her with him. He brought his mouth down on hers and gave her a kiss she could feel down to her toes.

Ron wasn't having any better luck. He and Hermione had built a snowman. As he placed his hat on the snowman's head, he was hit with a ball of snow in the back of the head. Spinning around, he saw Hermione tying her scarf, with a not so innocent smirk on her face. He growled at her and scooped up a hand full. She screamed and started running. Catching up to her, he dumped the snow unceremoniously down the back of her shirt.

"Ronald! That's cold!" she screamed while jumping up and down, trying to dislodge the ice in her jumper.

He just hugged her from behind pushing the snow further into her skin. She kicked out and they went flying, both of them landing face first in the powder. Sitting up quickly, Ron looked at her. He was scared he'd hurt her. She looked at him and started laughing. She leaned in for a kiss. He started back but at the last second pushed snow in his face. She got up and ran off again, heading in the house. He followed her in.

She ran up the stairs taking her hat, scarf, and jacket off as she went. He chased her and grabbed her before she got to her room. She squealed and held on to him. He lowered her down and brushed some snow out of her hair. Kicking her shoes off, he noticed that her teeth were chattering.

"Ron, I'm cold. I'd like a hot bath, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I guess I'll go downstairs and wait for you, okay?"

She just smiled at him and pulled his hand. He followed her out of the bedroom into the bathroom. She shut and locked the door. Turning around she found him with a look of question and desire on his face. She walked by him and turned the faucets on. Steamy water started to fill the bathroom.

She pulled his hat and scarf off. He shrugged out of his jacket and gloves. Smiling softly at him, she lifted her jumper over her head. Her undershirt stuck to the sweater, bringing both of them off together. He swallowed heavily before placing his hands on her hips.

She hissed and pushed his hands away. "Your hands are like ice!"

"Sorry," he said with a smirk on his face.

He turned the water off and looked at her. He watched as she slid her pants off and stood in front of him in her bra and knickers. His breath hitched as she unclasped her bra. She walked over to him and lifted his shirt from his body. She quickly undid his belt and buttons, but her hands were shaking so much. She grinned at him and slid her knickers down her legs. Before he had a chance to reach out for her again she climbed in the tub. Sinking into the hot water, she sighed. He finished getting undressed and climbed in behind her. Settling between his legs she laid back and rested her head on his chest.

Ron moved her hair off her shoulder and kissed her neck gently. He nipped a little at the sensitive skin. She moaned softly and pressed herself further against him with her back. He slid his hands around her front and brought one hand up to her breast. His still cold hands on her warm skin brought sensations to her she didn't know existed. His other hand dipped under her stomach into the water. She pressed herself against his hand as he continued feeling her. She could feel his want against her back. Turning herself around she straddled his lap and lowered herself onto him. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist and they started to rock.

Ron kissed her fiercely. Pulling back from her mouth, he groaned into her neck. "I love you, Hermione."

She gasped as her body let go and felt him do the same. She let herself fall into his chest and breathed heavily. She was choked up. "I..I l-love you, too, Ron."


	8. Tonight

**So sorry about the long wait. I lost my concentration for this story. I made this the last chapter, hoping I ended it good for you all. I enjoyed every review I got and I have about three other stories wracking my brain right now, so soon I'll have some more stuff posted. Please read what I write later. Love to all my reviewers. --Emily**

Ginny sighed. She really was proud of the way Ron's cabin turned out. All the rooms had a cheery air about them, with neutral colors and bright patterns. Except for his bath, of course. She wrinkled her nose thinking of relaxing in Cannon Orange, but knew Ron was a horse of different colors. She and Hermione were in her room, changing into dresses. The guys had both told them to dress up as best they could and wait for them there.

Hermione was trying desperately to get her hair tamed. The cold weather had made it almost impossible, even with magic, to get it to stay down. After cursing and throwing her wand and brush across the room, she gave up.

Ginny calmly walked over and picked up the discarded items. Setting the disgruntled girl back down on her chair, she proceeded to tie her hair up in an elegant knot, with several curled pieces randomly falling out. Looking in the mirror in front of her, Hermione gasped.

"Ginny, that's amazing. Is that a spell? I have read all sorts of spells for hair-do's but how did you manage this?!"

She laughed at Hermione and replied, "Muggle secret. Gel, mousse, hairspray. This brush is charmed to put out whatever you need out of it.

Hermione laughed and hugged her best friend. "Thank you, Ginny, for asking me to come with you this week. I thought at first you were nuts, but Ron and I just really needed to talk things out."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny said, "Of course that's all you needed. We all knew it, except you two. I'm glad you came with me. I'm glad Harry came. I'm truly happy with him. I've always loved him, but now it's real, you know?"

The girls were both starting to sniffle, but before anything could get too mushy, there was a knock at the door. Ron and Harry stood outside the door, decked out in their best winter clothes. Ron was in dark grey wool pants with a deep blue sweater. A collared shirt could be seen at the neck, it was cream colored. Harry's khaki pants and emerald sweater set off his eyes, which made Ginny gasp inwardly.

"Ladies, may we have the pleasure of escorting you to a fine and fabulous party?" Ron asked offering his arm to Hermione. She giggled and tucked her arm in to his.

Following Harry and Ginny, they made their way to the third story. Ginny and Hermione were both excited, they had been banned from the area, since Ron and Harry were insistent on doing the decorating themselves.

Harry opened the door to the room and gauged Ginny's reaction. It was worth it. Her eyes grew large and her mouth dropped open as she took in the room. Behind her, Hermione gasped. Ginny turned and clasped Hermione's hand. Together they walked around the large room. The walls were decorated gold with lighter gold stripes. The curtains were a magnificent scarlet, with gold patterns. A massive fireplace was emitting a warmth that filled the entire room. Plush couches and armchairs in gold and scarlet littered the whole room. It was like they had stolen the Gryffindor common room and placed it on the entire third story of this house.

Turning around, the girls looked at Ron and Harry, who were standing nervously still by the door. Ginny was first as she reached Ron and hugged him fiercely. "Big brother, this is amazing. I knew you didn't need me up here after all. But I'm glad I came." She turned to Harry and kissed him deeply. "This is what I wanted while were in school. For me to love you and you to love me and us be able to cuddle in the corner or by the fireplace and just kiss and talk."

"Well, then, that's what we'll do." Harry led Ginny to the couch in front of the fireplace and they sat cuddling on the soft cushions.

Ron cleared his throat and turned to Hermione. "Well?"

She looked at her boyfriend with tears in her eyes. "It's perfect. It's just like Ginny said. It's the way it should have always been."

Ron hugged her tight and kissed her. He led her over to a table that was filled with snacks and bottles of butterbeer and firewhisky. She laughed teasingly, knowing wherever food was, Ron would go.

The foursome talked and ate and talked some more. Several hours later, Harry nodded at Ron and he flicked his wand. The lights dimmed and soft music started playing.

Harry whispered to Ginny and she grinned and stepped into his arms. They started to sway slowly, foreheads touching and both grinning like idiots.

"Er…may I have this d—dance?" Ron stuttered out.

"Of course." Hermione let Ron lead her to an empty patch of floor and wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms rested loosely on her hips and they danced several songs together, never talking, just looking into each others eyes.

They all knew that tomorrow they would be leaving, and it was back to the real world, but tonight they had each other. Tonight, everything was good. No matter what happened when they went back home, as long as they had each other, and tonight, nothing bad could happen.


End file.
